All Girl

My beautiful Ella aka Boo

Ella's Pretty Toes ~ First time getting them painted

My Life is Changing

We have a lot going on this week. Tomorrow is church and I HAVE to go. I have so much to do, but I think in order to get through everything that lies ahead of us this week we HAVE to go to church. I need the strength.

1 year and 2 months ago we ventured off on our own away from our families. Meaning, my mom, my brother & sister and Gino's entire family. We left them all to focus on us and to give our children a better life. I personally don't believe that raising your kids in Sacramento is the smartest thing in the world to do.

This past year we've grown into a family that is startling everyone that knows us. I think that being by ourselves (my dad and his family that live here really haven't been around much) we've become people that we want to be. We've found what our purpose is, and we're happy with ourselves.

This week my Grandma and Norm (who is like my Grandpa) are moving here. She's rented a place in Ashland and Norm is going into an assisted living apartment/retirement community that is really a great place. I work for them. They do so much for us, and I'm excited and nervous for the road that lays ahead. I think that they both really need this. They used to live in a miserable town where there was no happiness and now they'll find some. I really could use the help. Sometimes it's extremely hard to get my work done, because let's face it, Ella is DEMANDING! I love this little girl to death, but sometimes I can't work, because she wants to be a part of it. So, it will be nice to have help with her.

This is life changing. I don't do well with change and am hoping that I can adjust quickly to having family around again. I'm staying positive and I think that if I stay positive it will be a positive situation. Right?

Norm needs this. Norm is in his final years and needs to be away from his businesses and needs to live life for himself. He packed up his home that he's lived in for the past 45 years and has chosen to live by me. That's an honor. It's an honor that he loves me as much as he does. He's an amazing man and I wouldn't even know where to begin. It's going to be a lot of work though, because he's needy. I don't want him to think I'm throwing him in a home and leaving him there, so we as a family are going to make it a point to get him out 5 days/week. Even if it's just a walk in the park.

Another person is moving here this week as well. I've talked many times about my dad's daughters. First there's Tiona, who's 9 and I really have resentment issues with. Then there's Alyssa who is 15 and just moved here from San Diego w/her mom last November. I've started baby steps with her this past week and so far things are going great. She even stayed the night last night and Jayden spent the day with her at her house. I haven't talked about the 3rd and final sister from my father yet.

Britney is 18 years old. I think - she might be 17 and turning 18 this year... ugh I think she's 18. Anyways, I found out she's moving here with her family and will be leaving Tennessee on Tuesday. My dad will have all 4 of his daughters living here. I don't know what to think. It's taking me a lot to start with Alyssa and now to have another one coming around, and she's different. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just I don't see how we'll have anything in common. This will be a challenge.

Like I said.... I REALLY need to go to church tomorrow.

Having all these sisters is so weird to me. Growing up I only had 1 sister, and in my heart that's all I think I can ever love as a sister. A sister to me isn't thrown on you as an adult, but someone who you grow up with. I haven't even discussed the story of my sister, brother (from my mom) and me, but someday I will. We didn't always live with each other, but we've always ALWAYS had a very strong bond. I may not have the same father as them, but the bond that we have with each other is strong. I love them so much.

I have to stay strong, because there's a reason why my life is changing this week. I have to believe that there's a reason why I'm about to be surrounded by family that I haven't been surrounded by.

Some Videos of Ella

Here's a couple of videos I took of Ella today. There's a glimpse of her taking some steps. Also, while you're watching look at her thighs (she's really going to hate me for this one day) Those chubby little thighs is why my 9 1/2 month old wears 18 month pants. Enjoy!!

My Views

I got tagged by Momzoo to show the view of the front of my house and the back. We're in a townhouse, so the back isn't as big and beautiful as I'd like it to be, but the front view is very pretty. Especially out of our bedroom window. I'm showing some shots I took today along with one from our biggest snow this year. It was the view out of our bedroom window and I love it.

Here's our front view from ground level

Here's our front view from my upstairs bedroom

Here's a couple pics of our back

And here is my all time favorite!! This was the view from our bedroom one snowy, beautiful day

Now I'm tagging ~ Kimberlee, Miss GoofyJ, Shimmy Mom & Kristen

Wanna play Where's Mary?

Wanna play a game? I'm seriously trying to get you to come and join me in watching USA Network's new original series In Plain Sight so I have people to talk about it with! Ok, you get to go and find the picture that I chose and posted below. We'll call this game Where's Mary. You can go HERE and then click on View Gallery ~ then you go and find the picture that I posted. Lucky for you, you just might run into some pictures of her hot boy toy. Yes, I think he really might be my main reason for wanting to start watching this show. Shhhhh.... don't tell Gino!!

Clapping YAY

Yesterday Ella learned how to clap. I love it. She's clapping over everything and it's soooooo cute! I found my camera today!!! YAY ~ so I'll get video of it and upload it soon.

New Great Show!!

Tomorrow is the premiere of the show of the summer!! USA Network's new original series In Plain Sight, and after going to read the bios of all the characters and I can't wait to get to know them all. Yes, I get sucked into TV shows and sadly, they all become my best friends. All of my best friends took a vacation for the summer and I need to replace them. I love to relate myself to characters on shows and I can already tell how I'm definitely more like Mary Shannon. Tough, sexy and smart, it's like they were describing me to the T.

Go check out the Bios for all these characters and get ready to fall in love with a great show!!

A Teary Mommy Moment

Tomorrow morning I will go to the cafeteria for an assembly at Jayden's school. He doesn't know it yet, but they will be calling him up for Student of the Month. I'm so proud of him. He's come such a long way since the beginning of the school year, and I'm starting to become overwhelmed with emotions.

Jayden only has 1 more full week of school. His Kindergarten graduation is on June 10th and I'm almost feeling how I felt on his first day of school. It's such an emotional thing to see your baby slowly become their own individual. I can't get over how far he's come this past year and I can't believe how quick it went. All the advice I've ever gotten from people who's kids were already grown and out of the house was, Treasure EVERY moment.... it goes by faster than you'll ever think. They weren't kidding.

I've been trying to grasp onto every memory that I can of Jayden as a baby and as a younger boy. I wish that I had been a blogger back then ~ I feel guilty that I wasn't. I feel guilty that his first 6 years weren't blogged. I feel guilty that sometimes I can't remember him as a baby. I feel bad that I wasn't always the best mom, but I can say I've tried my hardest. I grew with Jayden. I learned with Jayden. I sometimes feel bad about that, but that's what's made us into who we are. I guess I didn't do too bad of a job, because his manners shock people everyday. They even shock me. If you're in his way he kindly says, "Excuse me, pardon me." His little soul is so special and I've known this forever.

I can't even express my gratitude to Heavenly Father for blessing me with such an amazing little boy. He touches the hearts of everyone ~ I love that he's not a rough boy, but a loving boy. I love that he sings. I love his patience. I love his smile. I love his giggle. I love more than anything how he loves his sister. I love that he is who is he is and I hope that he always stays true to himself.

I love him. I hope that I can be everything that he needs me to be. This is a picture of him kissing me goodbye on his first day of school and a picture of him walking to his class with his daddy. A day that seems just like yesterday.

Want an Ipod Nano?

If you're an executive in health care your opinion is greatly needed!! Development Dimensions International is in search for some opinions and is need of HR of hospitals and health care delivery systems to take a survey. The best part about this, is if you go and take your time to answer a few questions for them, you will be entered into a contest that you can win an Ipod Nano. That sure is an easy way to get such a cool little thing. So, if you're interested in helping out this company in finding the answers that they need, then please To take the survey, click here.

Two Front Teeth

She's had her two front teeth in for a while now, but I finally got a picture of them ~ they make her looks so much older.

Are you in trouble in Southern CA?

Unfortunately, sometimes we can get in a little trouble with the law. Fortunately, I've never needed an attorney in my life. Sometimes you can even be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you can get caught up in something you really didn't want to be caught up in. If you live in Southern California and are in need of representation for your defense, you're in luck! You have one the best firms to take your case.

Criminal Attorneys Los Angeles | Southern California DUI, Felony, Misdemeanor Lawyers are there to help you fight your fight! Hopefully, you don't run into trouble, but just in case you do Keg Lawyers can help you out.

Batman Twirler

I love Christmas. I have so many wonderful memories from Christmas time as a child and I just came across this photo of Mitch (my brother), Jessica (my sister) & me. You have to admit, the socks are just the coolest things you've ever seen.. I know that my kids will have lots to laugh about when they get ahold of pictures of me as a little girl.

I wanted to talk about a couple of memories that I have around Christmas time. Memories that always have stuck with me. My sister and I used to love to twirl around in our dresses and I so wish I had a picture of this, but so did my brother. My brother and sister are only 12 months apart, so he would get dressed up in one of her dresses and twirl with us. As he was twirling you could see little batman underwear under the dress.

Every year for our Christmas tree we'd go behind our house, which was desert, and look for our Christmas tree to cut down. We'd always have to go really late at night when it was really dark, and I never caught on to the truth of the whole charade until my mom told me not too many years ago. My mom and her brother would actually go up in the mountains and find our tree, cut it down and bring it down and prop it up against the little non-Christmas trees behind our house. Somehow, they had us fooled to think that we were actually going in the back, hunting for our perfect, tree. Last week I talked of the trick my mom pulled on me, and she always tried to make things fun and memorable, and I'm lucky to have had a mom like that.

So, I know it's not Christmas time, but finding this picture brought back so many memories. So, here's Fro' Me to You ~ if you wanna join in on this fun carnival of reaching into the depths of your childhood head over to We are THAT Family and join in!! Even if you don't, she has a great blog so take a look around!!

Deals! Deals! Deals!!!

I find many joys in shopping online. I have found better deals shopping online than I usually do going store to store and searching through coupons. I really would love to be a coupon clipper, but I don't have it in me to actually sit down and get to clipping. Then to actually have to go through all the coupons and compare stores and all of that.... I hope some day I can get to that point. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE shoot them my way.

I did come across an online shoppers dream site today, and I couldn't keep it all to myself. This website offers discount deals and coupon codes for some of your favorite stores!!

One thing that I found pretty cool is that they have shopping specials for skiing and snowboarding from Komperdell, Lowe Alpine, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, Black Diamond Equipment, Columbia Sportswear and Rossignol. I know a lot of people who are into skiing and snowboarding and that stuff isn't cheap!

With Graduations & Father's Day coming up, Things Remembered is always a great store to buy presents for these occasions. Lucky for us, they offer some great coupon codes for them. Speaking of dads, every dad LOVES Home Depot. If you're in the market for buying your dad something he loves then you definitely should be checking this out.

Just for everyday shopping, I'm in love with Overstock.com, and I'd be shocked if there was anyone out there who wasn't. Lucky for us they offer codes for them as well!!

Enjoy!!

Ella Walked!!

My baby girl is 9 months & 2 weeks old and she took her first 2 steps today. She was so determined and it was so EXCITING!!!!!!!! I'm going to try my hardest to get this on video. OMGosh :( she's growing up so fast!

Wretched little fire ants!

Ever since we've moved to Oregon there's one thing I have definitely not liked. Fire ants! Those wretched little things make outings not so enjoyable. We love to go on picnics and these pesky little buggers can ruin the whole experience.

I came across a website that can give you some great advice on how to kill fire ants. If you've ever been stung by a fire ant there's treatment advice on this site as well. I love the tactic on their site on pouring boiling water into their colony to get rid of them.... how mean is that! I've heard it works though.

Wordless Wednesday - Siblings

She's learning young - and as you can tell they'll be fighting over the spotlight ~ Jayden better be careful though, because she seems to be a little more aggressive.

9 Month Check Up

Last week Ella had her 9 month check up. The doctors were so happy that they hadn't seen her since her 6 month check up, because that means that her heart medicine is doing what it's supposed to be doing! It makes us happy too!!

She was 20lbs 6 oz & I left the paper there that they wrote her length on. So, I don't have that tidbit of info. She's healthy and growing normally!! Of course she sat there throughout the doctor's appointment and wouldn't show them one thing she was doing. Why do they do that?

Ella said Jayden today. It was clear as day and shocking! Right after she said Jayden she said BuhBye... we were taking him to school. She's so smart. Sometimes I think she's too smart for her own good. That scares me. As I watch her grow and grow I get more frightened and excited for what lies ahead.

2 Day Movie Premiere

I have a 6 year old son who love Japanese animation. I think he got this from his Auntie. When my sister used to babysit for me they would watch Japanese animation the entire time. The characters in Japanese manga are always powerful and have names that stand for something. Jayden and I have come up with a Japanese name for him and it is Jeiden. It's close to Jayden and makes him feel cool!! We pronounce it "Jeedun".

Jayden is going to having something fun to look forward to on his last day of school. For 2 days and 2 days only, Bleach the Movie will be in theaters!! June 11th & June 12th is when you can go and see this movie in a theater near you. To check the locations that it will be shown, you can go here.

A Scattered Thought

The following is something I wrote earlier and thought I would use it as my Works for me Wednesday post. ~~~

As a parent we make mistakes. It's what happens and I believe that there is a reason that we as parents make mistakes. Not only for us to learn from so we can do better with the next, but also for our children to learn from them, and apply them to their lives AS THEY SEE FIT.

I've been having some thoughts lately that I feel I need to get out. So here it goes, and this is not directed toward any person - it's just some values I've been learning as I've been growing. I believe that opinions you have on someone should stay to yourself. I do not believe that pushing your opinions, your values and how you think things should be is going to help. While we all learn from our parents mistakes we have to live life to learn from our own as well.

Marriage is a sacred bond between 2 people. 2 people. Not 3, not 4 and definitely not between all the parents, inlaws, grandparents, aunts, uncles - you get my drift. I believe that if a marriage is in trouble, leave it be. If the married couple wants to split that's their choice. If the married couple is happy with their troubled marriage, let it be. If they're happier than anyone you know, let it be. Do not talk about them to others. Let their situation be their situation. If they come to you to cry, to rant, to rave listen. Don't tell them what you think has to be done, just listen. We all need to cry, rant & rave, but we don't want to hear negativity of our own situations from others, and we definitely don't want others to turn around and gossip.

If someone makes a decision for their lives that you believe is stupid or irresponsible, let it be. Keep your opinion to yourself, because it's their life. It's their dreams, it's what they want. Most importantly, don't go and talk about it with other people. Gossip is not good. Gossip destroys trust. Gossip destroys your soul, and I'm starting to realize this.

If you have an opinion on someone else's life keep it to yourself, unless they ask for it. If someone calls you and needs someone to talk to, please listen and not judge.

I'm saying these things, because I feel sad when I hear people talking about other people's marriages. I wouldn't like that done to me, and I hope it never happens. We have to live life for ourselves and not for others.

Many people have actually suggested that I get my tubes tied since my IUD is going to be taken out. That offends me. That is by far the most personal decision that anyone will ever make and there is no way I'm going to do that. To me, having kids, not having kids and marriage issues are personal and outsiders should not have a say. I know this is all a little scattered, but I've grown into a person that is independent. I've come a long way and actually used to HAVE to have my mommy close by. If I was sick I was on her door step crying. For me to pick up and move and see how life is when you are by yourself, raising your family I have learned how important it is to not drag others into your situations. That is a huge step for me and I'm proud of myself. I'm happier this way and I hope that our family will be happy with any decisions that we make as a married couple and strong, solid family, because whatever decisions WE make in life is for us and not everyone else.

OK, I feel really good for getting that out.

For other WFMW posts check out Shannon's Blog

Shoot your own commercial

I talked before about the Dockers contest and even came up with my own little story of 'If my pants could talk.' Writing that story alone was lots of fun, I've even had thoughts of entering into this contest and using my hilarious 6 year old in it somehow, or maybe I could go back to my original story of 'If my pants could talk' and go through all of the events that my dockers go through all day with a 9 month old baby around.

If you haven't gone to check out this Dockers contest you really should. People have been submitting in their videos that they are hoping win and they're pretty good!! It would be so exciting to have your video aired as a commercial during The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, don't you think? You could even make a fun family project out of it.

I really think this is a great opportunity that Dockers is giving to people out there who have always been interested in filming or even acting. This could be the ticket you've been waiting for. All it takes is shooting a fun commercial and submitting it in. What do you have to lose?

To get some ideas you could go and see the videos that have been submitted. Personally, my favorite was the one called Dockers Temptation. All the videos are great and I think that yours would probably even be better, so have a little fun.

Baby Steps - This step was great!

I actually don't feel like I had a very productive week. I was hoping to get the spice cupboard organized and I failed at that. However, I talked about my laundry problem last week and I'm proud to announce that I did continue with my laundry and have about 1 load left. That is by far the most shocking thing ever in my life!!!

Here's my HUGE tackle of the week and it has nothing to do with housework. I have been talking about one of my sisters from my father that I alienate myself from. You can read about it HERE. She's 15 and I came to the realization that she's a really sweet girl and I should try to start a relationship with her. She's 15 and that's such a hard time in life and it would be great if I could be a good role model. We both have the same dad and we both didn't grow up with him, well she kinda did. Anyways.... today I picked her up from school and we went to see a movie together. We had SO MUCH FUN!!! We saw 'What Happens In Vegas' and we laughed from the beginning all the way to the end.

It was such a big tackle for me and I feel good about myself for opening up to her and letting her in my life. I hope that this relationship will grow and I will soon feel like she is my sister, since technically she is.

Got Ink?

It seems like I've running to the store every couple of weeks to buy ink cartridges lately. With the job I do, at home, I'm printing all the time. Isn't that what accounting is all about? Reports and more reports and the reports just never end. Don't get me started on the scrapbooking. I've been printing out layouts as an 8x8 and that's eating up my ink like you wouldn't believe. Especially when I'm not satisfied with the way it looks, so I have to go back and redo the entire layout then print again. Then once I finally get it the way I like after printing out 10 times just to see I have to reprint for family members. You know they all love scrapbook layouts of my kids all over their homes. I know all my fellow digiscrappers out there hear me!

Let's face it, ink cartridges aren't cheap. In fact, the price of ink for me is soon going to start looking like my gas bill every month. Ugly picture isn't it? Lucky for you and me I have found a company that sells ink cartridges for CHEAP!! We're talking up to 70% cheaper than you probably normally spend on your ink cartridges. I know, I know! I can hear you now screaming share the info, lady! We want in on this beautiful gold mine that you have found. Patience, I'm getting there!!

I can hear you asking now, do they carry canon ink cartridges? Yes!! What about epson ink cartridges ? They do! They do! Guess what, folks! They even carry dell printer cartridges! Pacific Ink makes purchasing the ink cartridges that you need a walk through the park. You know what makes me like Pacific Ink even more? They have FREE SHIPPING!!!! What if you get your ink cartridge and you've changed your mind, well then lucky for you they have a Hassle Free Guarantee. Returns are a breeze.

If you have a busy, busy day ahead of you....

Happy Tuesday everyone!!! It's Kitchen Tip Tuesday and I thought today I'd share a couple of quickies I do in the kitchen on days that I'm busy or just don't feel like putting much effort into dinner.

I know that a lot of people love crock pots, and I'm one of them!! There's a lot of great crock pot recipes out there that call for all these ingredients and sometimes, being a new cooker, it intimidates me.

So, here's a couple of things I do in my crock pot.....


I throw chicken breasts/thighs in the crockpot and pour over some Four Cheese & Roasted Garlic spaghetti sauce and a ton of Parmesan cheese and cook on high for 4 hours - or low for 6-8 hours. Serve over some fettuccine Alfredo and mmmmmmm mmmmmm!!!

Do you have a whole chicken laying around? Last night I threw a whole chicken in the crock pot and poured some Teriyaki marinade over it, made white rice and steamed some broccoli and mmmmm mmmmm!!!!

Sometimes I just throw whatever I have in there, cross my fingers and say a quick prayer, and so far it's turned out all good ;)

If you have any easy crock pot recipes that you'd like to share with me please do!! I heart the crock pot!

For other kitchen tips, which are probably a lot better than mine (I'm new in the kitchen! Give me a break here) head over to Tammy's Recipes!!

It's time to start telling time

The other day we were at Walmart shopping and they had a display with watches and the were only $3.00. Jayden picked out a transformer watch and wears it without knowing what the heck it says. He's interested in time and tries to read our clocks.

I came across the coolest thing for kids learning how to read time. Teach Me Time Clock is a talking alarm clock. If you have one of the kids that gets up at sometimes at 4am (Kellei sound familiar?) then they can look at their clock and if it isn't glowing green that means it isn't time to get up yet. I actually think that when it turns to green it announces "OK to wake!" That rocks!

For kids like mine that never want to wake up, it can be used as an alarm clock - with a snooze button! This clock is programmable for however you want it used. This definitely is a clock I'm interested in buying for Jayden and then Ella can use it after he's done.

For the learning part ~ if you press the left toe it will display a random time and your child can try to figure out what time it is saying. For the answer, they press the right toe and they can find out if they're right or wrong.

Go check it out!

His Foot Says NO!

Going back to school after a long weekend is always hard. This morning Jayden was no different from the rest of the children in this world, he just did not want to go. I was helping him with his shoes and he said, "My heart says yes, but my foot says no." I kinda giggled and said, "Your foot?" Jayden says, "I mean, my heart says yes but my brain says no!" LOL ~ he makes me laugh everyday. That in itself is a blessing.

Staying positive

I must say today was a *Bee-u-tiful* day! The sun was shining, the birds were singing ~ all in all it was a glorious day. Okay... the sun wasn't shining, but the birds definitely were singing. They've been building a contraption in some vent that is above my stove. We hear them.

I did have a better day today. I definitely believe that the blessing that I received helped TONS. My husband getting a new battery put into my car helped tons. Praying and begging for some sort of peace inside of me is helping tons.

I have noticed that patience is growing slowly inside of me, and that's the most important thing. When you lose your patience it's almost extremely frightening. Your children rely on patience. Your marriage relies on patience. When you lose your patience you can lose it all.

I'm hoping that my hormone levels are regulating themselves. I haven't called my doctor's office to schedule getting the Mirena removed, but will be putting a phone call in to them tomorrow.

Step 1 Taken

As I was saying earlier today I need to try to make an effort with my 15 year old sister Alyssa, who lives here. I saw her today up at my grandparent's when I went to go pick up my battery and I asked her if she wanted to go to the movies tomorrow. She seemed excited! I felt really good about it inside. So, we're going to go and see What Happens In Vegas, which is a movie I've really been wanting to see.

Step 1 has been taken and I feel really good about it.

You can't beat free!

Music is such an important part of my life. I listen to music all throughout my day and different types with how I'm feeling. It used to be that we'd have to go to the store to buy our music, but with this wonderful internet that we now how in our lives we can easily go and download whatever it is that we want. However, there's certain ways that you can go about this. You can either do it legally by purchasing the music you download, or illegally.

Now, there's a way that you can download music without having to pay anything and it's completely legal! Get Free Music From MPFree.com simply by participating in things from their site. Things like signing up for sweepstakes or filling out a survey. Every time you participate you get a free download. What a perfect, easy way to get free music online without going against the law and doing something immoral. Keep in mind that this website is completely FREE and there's over 750,000 songs to choose from!

Family Home Evening - Love at Home

Last week I talked about Family Home Evening and how important it is to Mormons and even Non-Mormons. It's so important for the foundation of your family to have a set day every week that is focused on togetherness. To read in more detail about what Family Home Evening is please CLICK HERE.

This week for FHE we will be doing a lesson on Love at Home. I went and looked at this lesson and it's going to be sooooo much fun!!! I went and bought a poster board to do it on and afterwards we're going to eat yummy ice cream sundaes!!

Here is something that a reader sent to me about my post last week that really touched my heart! I actually got chills...

Stitchin' Girl said: "Thank you for your kind comment on my blog. I have been reading yours and it is truly inspirational. We are not Mormon, but what you wrote about family really hit home. Tonight we will be starting our Family Home Evening together. I can't wait!" If you go read her blog she talks about how her first FHE went and it will just show you what it can do to your family. I hope she continues on with her Family Home Evening, because it is so needed in every home in our world.

My Home Makeover

We recently bought a couch. We had owned our couches for 7 years before our recent purchase. I love furniture. I think that furniture screams who you are, what you like, and what your personality is like. My old couches represented who I used to be, but we've changed. Life has gotten better for us and we now have a couch that fits our new life.

In the process of upgrading our new furniture I've come across a GREAT website that has beautiful furniture. Since we've already completed our living room we're moving on now to our bedroom furniture. They have BEAUTIFUL bed sets that I have completely fallen in love with. I'd love to be able to have some zebra chairs in my room too! The prices are pretty competitive as well.

After we finish our bedroom and make it into our sanctuary we will be moving on to my office. I work from home and in now way have the furniture that I need to have everything organized the way I need it. The home office furniture that they have on their website would work out perfect for me!! I can't wait to get started on the rest of my home makeover.

A step in a positive direction.... I hope

I think it's time for me to soften my heart a little and reach out to one of my sisters from my father. Yesterday my cousin who I'm very close to showed up with her baby and had my sister Alyssa (15) with her. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I'd made a decision that I really didn't want to get involved with my dad, and she's a part of him.

She sat in my living room and talked of how she's going through some things in her life and I felt bad. Here I have a girl that wants a part of my life, of my kids life and I'm backing away into a dark and lonely corner. She's never done anything to me. If anything, she kindof (KINDOF) had it like me. She didn't have the luxury of having my father in her life all the time. However, she did have him. Her mom made sure of it. She has a relationship with him where she actually feels love for him in her heart. I wonder how that feels. I wonder how it feels to have a dad to rely on.

I think I should take baby steps with this and start out by taking her to get our toes done together. It's not her fault. She's actually a really enjoyable girl, and I need to do this. I need to stop alienating myself from them all. Baby steps. My goal of the week is to call her and plan a time for us to do something together.

Great for advertisers too!

I've been so concerned about reaching out to my fellow bloggers about joining up with SocialSpark.com to make money blogging, that I completely forgot to reach out to those who have something they really want advertised.

As I go around looking at other's blogs I've come across a lot of blogs that are trying to sell products that they make, or are trying to get traffic to their site to hear their views. If you really want your traffic to boom and your sells to sky rocket then you should consider joining in with the SocialSpark community. You will have hundreds of bloggers anxiously ready to type great reviews about what you want them to. You will even have the opportunity to sponsor a blog.

I have come across some great things that I enjoy that I personally would love to blog about. The first one is Everyday Minerals, which is the makeup that I use. Blurb, which is a website that can turn your blog into a hardcover book. While I'm sure they're getting great business, imagine how much more they could get if they took their advertising to the max by having bloggers advertise for them.

Imagine how much more business you could get if you were a part of a growing community of people eager to help you out.

Going to the holy land

I think that we've made a decision after much thought and consideration. Our bishop goes to Israel 2x/year. It is supposed to be the most amazing tour of the country ever and it looks like my husband is going to join him.

Gino has shown so much interest in the church and something has been holding him back from baptism. When I casually mentioned to him that the Bishop was going to Israel later this year he looked at me and said, "I want to go." To be honest I kinda laughed at first. I can't picture Gino going on a trip with the Bishop, but he was dead serious.

I prayed about it and I've never once received one bad feeling. Something inside of me keeps telling me that this is "it". This is going to be the maker or the breaker in Gino's decision to join this church. From what I've heard the tour is supposed to be so amazing that he'll come home begging to be baptized.

This is the website that the Bishop has set up where you can kinda go and see what's in store for my husband. I'm so excited for him. This is an opportunity of a lifetime no matter what religion you are. The trip is for 10 days and I'm happy that I'll be able to rely on the members of my church for help while he's gone, because I have one of the best wards in the world!

It really is a cool community!

Our economy has just been going downhill. Gas prices are starting to make things hard on everybody in our nation. Who wants to go on a vacation when you have to pay $4.00 per gallon? Heck, I don't even want to drive to the store or even start my car for how much we're paying for gas. It's getting harder and harder and it's time we start looking for ways to bring in a little extra money that can help us through this crisis. Or maybe you're making the perfect amount of money every month, but you don't have any leftover for savings for vacations or college funds. I will testify that what I'm about to tell you about will help you out with these things.

I've talked about SocialSpark before, but this was before my blog was approved. I have now had the opportunity to actually start taking opportunities and writing about them on my blog for money. I've been choosy and try to pick out opportunities that in some way apply to my life or my blog. I don't want to scare all you readers away with a bunch of advertisements! I feel privileged that through SocialSpark I am able to continue to do what I love while making some extra money.

I can't express enough how cool their community setup is. It's connecting advertisers and bloggers together. Their code of ethics makes me proud to be a part of their community.
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If you've been interested in making money off of your blog to survive in this crazy economy of ours you definitely should check out SocialSpark

I'm Getting a Blessing Today

The missionaries are coming over today to give me a blessing. I feel like this is exactly what I need with all of the hormone issues I have been going through. I've prayed and asked for patience and while I have noticed a difference I still believe that there's a missing piece here, and my last resort until I can get this Mirena out is to get a blessing.

I had such a wonderful at time at church today and it's amazing what going there can do to my soul. I can be stressed out with a million things on my mind, and the minute I walk through those doors I feel this relief. Then when I walk out of those doors I feel motivated to strive hard at doing the best I can to follow the gospel. I think that's why it's so important for us to go to church every week, because it sets the tone for the following week. I miss church sometimes, and it always seems like the following week I have a horrible week. I'm not thinking straight, I don't feel motivated to read my scriptures, which always make me feel good, or even pray.

I'm realizing that right now in my life I am struggling with something big within me. To feel stress and anxiety due to lack of necessity hormones in my body is wretched feeling. I sometimes lay in bed and cry, because I hate the way I'm acting. I hate the way I'm treating the people that I love and care for the most. My children need a mom with patience, it's not fair. I know that they, especially Ella can feel my frustrations and I don't like that.

I hope that this blessing will help me to hang in there until this all gets figured out.

Never go to the bank again

I don't know if I've talked much about my job, but I work at home. I am an accountant and currently am managing my grandparent's books for their businesses in Nevada from my home in Oregon. I love it! I love that I am able to stay home my kids and still do the job that I love. There are many downfalls to the system that we have going on here. I would have to say that the most major downfall of our system is the banking. We have checks that are flowing in all throughout the month. The banks for these companies are in Nevada and the income is being sent to me in Oregon. The procedure that we've been using is I send deposits off to Nevada. It can sometimes take up to 5 days for the deposits that I send off to clear the accounts. That can be frustrating. Especially when people are calling asking why their checks haven't cleared.

I came across a solution and I think it is definitely something that can work wonders for us. I had no clue about this, but there has actually been an amazing system online with a company called DepositNow since 2004. What they can do for you is make it so you no longer have to leave your house to go to the bank, or in my case wait up to 5 days for my deposits to clear. You simply scan your checks with one of their check scanners, which they sale for 1/2 off of what they retail for, and they deposit it electronically.

If you're interested in this, or if you know your company might be interested in this please reference my blog and you will receive $25.00 off of a check scanner!!

Where does he get this stuff?

Gino and Jayden had a father/son day and went to see Iron Man. Whenever they go to the movies Jayden always gets popcorn, soda and candy. Nothing but a bunch of junk, but I don't argue it's "their" thing. I'm not one that has ever said anything like, "If you eat junk you're gonna get fat." In fact I've never even talked to Jayden about stuff like that ever - nor do I talk about that stuff concerning any of us. Basically, there's no way Jayden has heard what I'm about to tell you in our home.

I asked Jayden if he had anything good to eat and this was his reply, "No, I had popcorn and candy and soda. Just a bunch of junk, huh Mom? I better eat some strawberries so I don't get fat."

WOW ~ the stuff he comes up with just blow me away sometimes. Gino and I kinda had a little giggle together about it, because stuff like that just sounds so weird coming out of a 6 year olds mouth.

Are You Going Green?

I really love plants. I've tried many, many, many times to have a plant in my house and then end result is never good. My plants die. I've never had green thumb and wanted one so bad. My problem is I'd either kill them with kindness, or forget that they need water to survive. Our last plant I actually put outside for some reason and killed it that way.

I hate that. I hate that I can't have beautiful plants in my home. Plants make a home to me. You go to any of my family's house and they have beautiful plants all over. Luckily for me, there's a wonderful company that sells BEAUTIFUL silk plants. They even have bonsai plants, which I think are the coolest things in the world.

Nowadays people are going green. They're all about preserving our earth and what better way of going green than by using silk plants and trees? They require low maintenance, which is a HUGE plus in my house. Plus with all the allergies that my husband has there's no safer thing for us. You know all those pesky little bugs that love to come into your house just to get to your plants? You won't have to worry about that anymore with silk plants. Just check them out, I've found a few things I'm really interested in.

He's a keeper

There are so many times where I'm frustrated with my husband. Sometimes he really can make me madder than I've ever been, and lately with my hormonal problem I've said some pretty horrible things to him. There's so many little things that he does that sometimes just really get under my skin. Marriage can be so darn difficult.

My car's battery went dead yesterday and he's been doing so much to get this car going again. Unfortunately it's not just a simple jump. It's frustrating the crap out of me too, because my car's not that old.

As I was watching him out there my heart was filled with love. I love him. He does so many things for me, and not many husbands do things for their wives. I have a lot of people I talk to that complain about their husbands and how lazy they are. I do the same sometimes. I complain about Gino, but usually to Gino. I try to not complain about my husband to other people. I try to keep our problems within ourselves. I used to bring other people into our problems and that doesn't work. It only made matter extremely worse.

I feel bad when I nag. I feel bad that I've been such a mean, wretched wife. I love him. He can make me madder than anyone in this world, but he also can make me happier than anyone (besides our babies of course).

I feel very blessed to have this man as my husband.

If My Pants Could Talk

I get out of the shower and I walk into my closet and pick out the pants that I want to wear for the day. There they are, my favorite pants. The ones that fit just perfectly. The ones that I love so much. You know, my Dockers. I grab them and I pull them up and off we go to get through what lies ahead of us.

If they could talk you'd hear them screaming as my 9 month old pulled on them. You'd hear them laughing as my 9 month old tickled them. You'd hear them crying as my 9 month old spit up on them and then you'd hear them yelling at the fact that they are now covered in what was supposed to be my 9 month old baby's dinner. When it came time for my baby to take her nap you'd hear my pants rejoicing with me in the fact that we're finally having a moment to ourselves.

Dockers contest is a contest which can land you in the spotlight. The participants will shoot their stories as a video and submit them in for the Dockers contest. What kind of a story must you shoot you ask. It's simple. A story about your pants. If your story is chosen for the Dockers contest you could have a chance at your commercial being shown during the June 13, 2008 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

100 Things About ME!

1. I have 2 beautiful childen
2. I have a baby in heaven
3. I have 1 brother and 4 sisters
4. In my heart I only have 1 sister
5. I have 1 nephew and 1 niece from my 1 brother & 1 sister from my mom
6. I went to a boarding school when I was 12
7. That boarding school was a Scientology boarding school
8. I loved that boarding school and it was my choice to go
9. I went to a Mormon reform facility in Provo when I was 14
10. I really was a little out of control and needed to go there
11. After I graduated from the program I lived with my counselor in Provo for a while
12. I got married in Lake Tahoe, NV
13. Yes, it was in a casino
14. That casino was Caesars and it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding
15. I was married May 15, 2004
16. I played the flute in junior high
17. I used to make my sister & brother pay to come in my room
18. I made tickets and sold them to them for .01 each
19. I got in trouble when they outed me
20. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
21. I have not always been an active member of this church
22. I married a non-member of this church
23. I know someday my husband will be a member
24. I love to digiscrap
25. I'm addicted to massages
26. I don't have a shoe obsession
27. When I moved out with my husband I didn't know how to cut meat
28. I didn't know how to cook either
29. I have broken both of my wrists
30. I have lived with my aunt
31. I LOVE chick flicks and cry over all of them
32. I was not a military kid
33. I grew up without a dad
34. I now live by my dad and still have no relationship with him
35. A year ago I relocated with my little family to start our own roots
36. I love pink
37. I have a daughter with Wolf-Parkinson White syndrome, which is a heart defect
38. On 10/5/07 I almost lost my daughter
39. I heart Hazelnut Lattes
40. I love accounting
41. I have an aunt that is only 4 years older than me
42. My mom is only 15 1/2 years older than me
43. I have Cuban Puerto Rican children
44. I have natural red hair
45. I have blue eyes
46. I've never had a tan
47. I ended up doing home school for my last 2 years of high school
48. I regret that decision
49. I moved 10 times during elementary school & junior high
50. Through all those moves I always had the same best friend
51. After 22 years, we're still best friends
52. One year for Halloween I was a dead Raider's cheerleader
53. I LOVE the Oakland Raiders
54. I LOVE the Sacramento Kings
55. I have a picture of me with one of the owners of the Sacto Kings
56. I played softball when I was 11
57. I sometimes listen to country
58. I'm tired of American Idol and didn't watch it this year
59. I'm obsessed with Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives & Brothers & Sisters
60. Oh yeah, and Gossip Girl
61. I have a husband who is obsessed with these shows with me
62. I work at home
63. I still don't own my own home
64. I have my California Real Estate License
65. I love mineral makeup
66. I use Burt's Bees products - including their shampoo & conditioner
67. I used to write a lot of poetry
68. I really don't like going to the movies
69. My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden
70. I wouldn't have moved here if they didn't have an Olive Garden
71. I hate sea food - if it comes out of the water I don't eat it
72. I've had to call 911 due to my baby choking
73. A couple of weeks later my son choked
74. I have a husband that saved both of them
75. I started a fire playing with matches when I was 7
76. I had a New Kids on the Block sleeping bag
77. I have a 5 generation picture
78. My son has a 5 generation picture
79. I still have 5 generations alive in my family
80. I got braces at the age of 21
81. I had them on for almost 4 years
82. My "I" teeth do not exist and have bridges in their place
83. I love to read
84. I've never had a car payment
85. I drive fast
86. I've been to Mexico
87. I've never been to the East Coast
88. I love the ocean
89. I got bit by a dog and it almost took my eye out
90. I have a scar from it on my eyebrow
91. I used to make my garage a skating ring when I was younger
92. I lost a baby half way through my pregnancy
93. I still think Tupac is alive
94. I think he's in Cuba
95. I was 19 when I had my son
96. I was 25 when I had my daughter
97. I was 21 when I got married
98. I don't like BBQ sauce
99. I dip everything in ranch and ketchup
100.I'm a leo ~ hear me roar LOL

Make your Dad's Father's Day one to remember

It's that time of year again. The time of year where we honor our fathers and husbands and brothers for the wonderful fathers that they are and for the great influences they've had in our lives. Have you thought about what you're planning on getting your dad this year? You weren't planning on going with tools again were you? What if I told you that there was a way that you could give him a Father's Day in HD? That's right. Every man's dream!

Does your dad have Charter cable service in his area? If your answer to that question was yes, then you MUST read on!! Charter is having a Father's Contest where you write a 250 word essay on why your father is the best dad ever and he could win....

A 65" HDTV with Charter HD Bundle for LIFE! That's right, no more cable bill. If your essay isn't chosen for the Grand Prize he still could be eligible to win some of the runner up prizes which include a free year of Charter's BIGGEST bundle and another prize is a free year of Charter's HD Service.

What do you have to lose? Go sign your dad up for the Father's Day of a lifetime. They're accepting entries until June 6, 2008 - so HURRY!!

Mr & Mrs Fishy

Jayden finally got his pets last night. He got 2 gold fish and their names are Mr & Mrs Fishy. When we were in Pets Mart buying the fish he was so excited. When they put them in the plastic bag he wanted to hold them and when I told him that I'd prefer to hold them so they don't get dropped he actually rubbed his face up against the bag. I guess it's love.

We set the fish tank up in his room. I'm crossing my fingers that all goes well and that he doesn't put random things in their cool little tank, or worse... somehow knock the tank over. I'm happy that he finally has a pet that won't attack him or one that doesn't get cravings for pies.

Ella has had a bit of a determined eye when she sees them. I wonder if she's contemplating on how she can get them in her mouth since that's where EVERYTHING belongs.

If you haven't realized it yet I LOVE to shop

Every year I have this wonderful idea to wake up as early as I possibly can just to bust through the doors of the store that has the best sale going on. It's the famous day after our gobble gobble turkey day called Black Friday. I never can get out of the door before 8:00am and usually miss out on those door buster deals. Come cyber monday though and I'm on it! There's something so much better about shopping from the computer.

Things have changed! Now there's a website that you can purchase the items that are on sale at 5:00am right from your computer. Who wants to go out in all that crowded mess when you can purchase the items right from the comfort of your home? Not me! The website is already compiling their list of what is going to be on sell this year on Black Friday. Don't want to keep checking back to see what's been added? Then enter your email address and they will update you as new ads are added.

They great thing is I can start planning my Christmas shopping now. I've already found some great deals that my favorite stores are having. I just might have to stock up on some of the stuff Target has on sale and maybe turn around and double my money on ebay. This definitely is a site worth spending some time on.

Friday Favorites

It's been a few weeks since I've displayed my favorites of the week. This week I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to give some of my favorite highlights of my week.

• My mom got a great job and I am so happy for her!!! Congrats to you, Mom!
• Jayden read an entire book to me all by himself. I only helped with the really big words.
• My husband is still here even though I've been a hormonal psycho wife - I love you, Gino!
• I completed my 2006 taxes and am pleased to know that I'm actually getting a pretty nice refund
• My husband is going to start reading the Book of Mormon with me - HUGE STEP!

Say No To SPAM

This world has now become just one big party on the internet. If you aren't a part of it it's like you're hiding under a rock and are missing out on some the best times. Some of the best friends, some of the best advice, and probably one of the best get aways from life that I've found.... sad huh? If you're not a part of this your missing out on SO MUCH!

Unfortunately, with the way our economy is people are starting to not be able to afford things, and this includes the internet. A very important thing that I personally believe should be in all homes. I mean, let's face it. Wouldn't you rather email that crazy aunt of yours instead of making that phone call to check on her?

If you or someone you know cannot afford the high prices of the internet you definitely should be high tailing it to getisp.info. They are a website that can help you find low cost ISP providers. They even have information on a no cost access plan from NetZero. You can't beat that!

This isn't all they have to offer. They also have tips on how to speed up your computer, are you tired of all that spam flooding into your email? They can help you with that! If you have a wireless network you need to make sure you're protected. They got tips for that too!

Head over and start protecting your computer today - or get your friends and family hooked up with the world they're missing out on!

Inspiration to moms

Something that we all should remember. Here's a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley..

"Do the best you can. And remember that the greatest asset you have in this world is those children who you've brought into the world, and for whose nurture and care you're responsible."

Our homes don't have to be perfect. The main thing that matters is that our children are getting the love, care and attention that they so deserve. They are the reason we exist.

Shop-a-holic's Dream!

A wonderful site has been launched in the UK that is every shop-a-holic's dream! Dealtime is a website that you can get all of your shopping done and you will get the best deal out there! There are so many different categories to choose from electronics to wine. The best part of this website is they search for you for the best deals and link you to them. Just go and check out all the options that you have to choose from when searching for an iPod.

Forget going store to store or website to website searching for that deal. Now you can get it all done in one place. This would be the perfect website to use during the holidays to get all of your shopping done for your friends and family. You wouldn't even have to leave your house and hit those busy malls, and you'd be getting a much better deal.

One thing I really liked about this website is that they have appliances. If you have a washer or dryer that's gone out, now you can go here and get the best deal!

MAJOR Mom Brag!

When Jayden was younger and he'd see a piano he wasn't one to go and bang on it. He tried to position his fingers on it and even tried to read the music. Unfortunately, living in Sacramento I never had time for anything let alone piano lessons. I always knew in my heart that this little boy had something really special about him.

Starting in March of this year I started taking Jayden up to the Bishop's house to get piano lessons from his daughter. Within just 3 months Jayden has shocked us all. First let clarify that Jayden has energy like none other! The minute we walk through those doors for some reason he thinks it's time to play around, joke around and you'd think by the way he was acting that he wasn't getting anything that she was saying.

If she points to a key Jayden knows exactly what that key is. He has C Chord memorized and 1 Chord memorized and she even did a duet with him yesterday. If he calms down enough to play a song for her it's perfect. When he's clapping and counting the notes his voice is going with the tune of the song. This has always blown me away and I asked her yesterday if this was normal. Her eyes got big and she shook her head and told me that Jayden is at the same level as some of her girls that she's been teaching for 2 years.

He's only 6 years old. Can you imagine what he's going to sound like when he's older. He is a talented little boy and something in me always told me this. I'm glad we got him into lessons when he was younger.

On another brag note..... Thursdays in Jayden's class is library day. Jayden got a Dora book and read the entire thing to me with VERY minimal help!! Way to go, Bubby!!!!!

Oh those uniform men need deals too!

Do you have one of those husbands that gets dressed up in a sexy, cop uniform everyday. Or is he an outdoors guy that needs some gear? 5.11 Tactical Outdoors offers many products from shirts to sunglasses to even knives. If you spend over $50.00 your shipping will be FREE!! Who doesn't love free shipping?

My UFO Experience

Great! I'm never showing my face at my husband's work EVER again! He's told one of his friend's at work a story about me that's kinda embarrassing and his friend told another person and that person told another person and when Gino was leaving for work yesterday his boss said, "Make sure your wife doesn't get abducted by an alien tonight." and laughed.

It was in 2005 and it was night. My backyard had a big tree and the night sky was BLACK. I was out back with the dog and I looked up into the sky and there was a UFO hovering over my house. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to grab the dog and Jayden and get in the car and leave, but I didn't see the point since the UFO could easily follow us. If it was going to abduct us it was going abduct us no matter where we were.

Gino was at his friend Justin's house playing Madden. I called in a panic explaining to my husband that there's a UFO over our house and I don't know what to do. I'm crying at this point. Gino sat on the phone speechless, because this is really kinda out there. I mean come on, how would you react if your other called you freaking out over something so random and weird So, they are just in shock and I hear Justin say in the background, "Dude, wtf is wrong with her?" After I convince Gino that there really is a UFO above our house he's about ready to come home until I say. "Oh, wait a minute. Nevermind! It's just one of those blimp things."

I will probably be made fun of for the rest of my life.

What shoes are to a woman is a watch to a man

My husband thinks he needs a new watch every year. Christmas rolls around and I can bank on a comment of "A really nice watch would be nice this year." I guess he forgets about all the other nice watches he has. Which, he got every other year for either Valentine's Day, Christmas, his birthday. Come on, how many watches does a man need? Apparently it's like shoes for woman for some men. I guess everybody has their thing, right?

The Watchery sells luxury watches like this beautiful Harry Winston at a HUGE discounted price. I've spent some time looking around on their website and I've completely fallen head over heels a lot of what they're offering. One aspect that I LOVE is that if you purchase a watch from them they will give you a free watch! You could get 2 Christmas, birthday, father's day... whatever holiday it is presents for the price of 1! Father's Day is right around the corner, and you know your dad and husband would love a luxury watch! If you don't like any of the watches they offer for free you can say - No thanks to those and take 80% off of a large selection of other watches. They even have Ebel watches at a price I've never seen before. My husband would LOVE this!

BLOGGY GIVAWAY WINNER

Is lucky #6, Julie! She didn't leave her blog so I can't link her site to everyone, but she did leave her email address so I'm off to email her and find out what yummy fragrance from Bath & Body Works she wants. Thank you to everyone who played along!!!

Sincerely Fro' Me to You - Sand Dollar Baller

I am SUPER excited about this carnival that Kristen from "We are THAT Family" you know what, Kristen - we so are too! LOL Anways... it's called Sincerely, Fro' Me to You. It's a carnival on taking a trip down memory lane.

Let me explain why this is the most perfect carnival for me. This blog is my family history. This blog is going to be printed every year and put into a hard cover book for my children and their children and their children to enjoy. I'm so happy that I will have something weekly that will force me to dig into memory lane to share with all the generations to come.

So for my first time ever participating.....

Dear Mom,

Do you remember the summer after Delphi? This particular summer you were in New Orleans. I came to visit and had the summer of a lifetime. We were walking down the French Quarters and there was a door open of some bar and I looked in and there was actually a male stripper and when I looked down there was a ton of guys stuffing money in his thong LOL. Remember the creepy guy that was following us?

There's one moment in my life that I will never forget as long as I live. I don't think I'd ever been more mad at you than I was at that moment. You know, the moment that you almost had me walking into a little shop on the beach to sell them the sand dollars I "found" on the beach for $300 each! You know, the sand dollars that you dropped in the sand behind me, just to lead me into thinking I was finding a gold mine and was going to be rich! I'll never forget that. In fact, I think packed in the garage I still have those sand dollars. I'm glad that you and John had such a hysterical laugh over it. I'll never forget how mad I was. I was only 12... you tell me anything and I'll believe it. I had plans for that money, Mom! I was planning on buying one of those Sony Discmans... remember, the yellow ones that supposedly wouldn't make your CDs skip.

I still wish that you really could take sand dollars in and sell them for $300 each. I'm so happy that you made things so memorable for me, even if at the time I wasn't really all that happy with the little jokes you'd play on me. I love you, Mom!

Sincerely,

Fro' Me to You, Mom

No more IUD for the sake of my sanity

After having a completely emotional day I think I've come to a decision that might just save my sanity. I really have loved the Mirena, but I'm turning into someone I don't even like. My husband actually said to me today that he doesn't even like to come home on his lunch break anymore because I'm just snapping at him over everything. He compared me to the sister on the movie Knocked Up... she treats her husband like s*%$ I had a hysterical fit today where I sat in the bathroom sobbing. Over NOTHING. I picked apart everything I could on my husband. That's not okay. This isn't me. Of course I have my times of being moody, but this is scary. So as I'm sitting in the bathroom crying it dawns on me that what if these hormones I'm taking are completely screwing up my brain? What happens when I completely lose it? That's when you draw the line. I'd rather have another kid than feel the way I feel.

I've wondered before if maybe it's PPD, but I don't think it is. Especially since my hormone levels are so drastically low. I have to have faith that everything will end up back to normal and I will be okay. My kids don't deserve to have a mom with no patience. Instead of being on anti-anxiety medication and hormones I think I'm going right to the source and having them rip that stupid Mirena out.

If you pray, please pray for me. I'm going to ask the missionaries to come over and give me a blessing on Friday. I also am going to get a massage tomorrow, and that should really help. If you pray, please pray for me. I hate feeling like this. I don't want to drive my husband away being a naggy wife. I've never been naggy. I've never been snappy with Jayden and I'm catching myself being like that with him. Jayden is my heart and soul and I'm so over protective over him and here I am being mean. That's not cool.

I think for birth control I might go back on the ring, which is what I was taking before I got pregnant with Mya. My insurance company is just going to LOVE this. I just fought tooth & nail to get that $850.00 thing paid for. Now I'm taking it out LOL.

**I updated my Book of Mormon Blog

Need I Say More?

I've posted this before, but I thought this would be the PERFECT picture for my first Wordless Wednesday.

For other Wordless Wednesday posts head over 5minutesformom.com

Starting your day out right....

It's another week of Works for Me Wednesday. I'm sitting here looking around my living room and it looks like a tornado has flipped through it. I'm exhausted and wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed. I look over at my kitchen, and my counters are filled with dishes from dinner and the day since I was busy trying to get work done & dealing with a high maintenance baby, and once again, nobody thought to put THEIR dish in the dishwasher.

My entire house is asleep and I can't help but sit on my butt and treasure the silence. I don't want to clean my house and I know that when I wake up in the morning if I walk down those stairs and I get one glimpse of what I'm staring at right now I won't only have claws for the entire day, but not one thing will go right for me. Instead of spending the beginning of my day being organized and happy, sipping my coffee (YES I STILL DRINK COFFEE) I will be mad. I will not be able to start work, because I will be having to clean up my house. Then, my entire schedule will be completely messed up and then I'll get depressed, because the things that I actually HAD to do did not get done. All because I woke up to a messy house.

So, what works for me is getting off my butt and making sure that my kitchen and my living room are presentable so that when I wake up and I walk down those stairs I can have a smile on my face.

Now, I have to actually go and do this unfortunately.

To read about what works for other's go to Shannon's blog.

FOR THE BLOGGY GIVEAWAY CLICK HERE

Want to be the talk of your social circle?

Then you definitely need to step away from the store bought Brithday Cards that you send out every year and listen to what I have to say. Cards Direct is a website that allows you to customize birthday cards to say anything that you want it to.
I absolutely LOVE the way this card looks. Being able to personalize it into what I want it to say and the fact that it's half the price that store cards would be ROCKS!! They sell these cards in bulk and I kinda like that. I like how I will be able to have a custom birthday card that I will send out to everyone on their birthdays throughout the year. Plus, you won't have to worry about putting your return address on the envelopes provided, because they will do it for you!

The process is so incredibly easy! You go through, pick out the card you like and then personalize it to say what YOU want it to say. You could even add your company logo and order in bulk if it's the "company" birthday card that you give to everyone.

They have so many more things to offer including picture cards, which you could do some cool invitations with. Go check it out and be the talk of your social circle, because you have better, customized cards and they don't!